Team India wicketkeeper and opener Ishan Kishan was adjudged the ‘Player of the Series’ as the Indian cricket team thrashed West Indies by 200 runs to win the third and final ODI and clinch the three-match series 2-1. Kishan smashed his third successive fifty of the ODI series, putting on 143 runs for the first wicket with Shubman Gill, while scoring 77 off 64 balls with three sixes and eight fours.
It was Ishan Kishan’s fourth successive fifty on the West Indies tour, the first one coming in the second innings of the second Test in Trinidad. The Mumbai Indians batter became only the sixth Indian batter to score three successive fifties in an ODI series.
Former India opener Kris Srikkanth was the first one to achieve this feat against Sri Lanka back in 1982. Former India captain MS Dhoni has achieved the same feat against Australia in 2019.
Early signs of another big one from Ishan _#INDvWIAdFreeonFanCode #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/vbzjDqB6tp
— FanCode (@FanCode) August 1, 2023
Here are the Indian batters who have scored three successive fifties in ODI series…
Krishnamachari Srikkanth vs Sri Lanka (1982)
Dilip Vengsarkar vs Sri Lanka (1982)
Mohammad Azharuddin vs Sri Lanka (1993)
MS Dhoni vs Australia (2019)
Shreyas Iyer vs New Zealand (2020)
Ishan Kishan vs West Indies (2023)
Kishan also won the ‘Player of the Series’ after scoring 52, 55 and 77 in the three ODI matches in the series. “Actually not so happy with the finish I gave. These wickets that we played on, I was supposed to score big. That’s what I was told by my senior players that I have to get big runs, that’s what makes normal players good players. Next time I will try to get big runs. I think it’s important to be consistent. You have to forget about the last game and start from zero, just look at the ball and play and take it one match at a time,” Ishan Kishan said after the third ODI.
The Jharkhand wicketkeeper revealed that he enjoys opening the batting with Shubman Gill, who was the ‘Player of the Match’ in the third ODI after scoring 85 off 91 balls. “I think he’s a tremendous player, the way he middles the ball. So to see how he is playing well from the non-striker’s end, it gives me confidence as well. It’s always important to win at this level,” Kishan said about opening the innings with Gill.
